After the Battle of Hogwarts from Hermione's POV
by siri writes
Summary: A little bit of fluff and a little bit of angst of the day after the Battle of Hogwarts. From Hermione's perspective. Fred is alive in this one but all the other characters that died in the series are dead.


I gazed at the broken remnants of the castle that had been my home for six, beautiful years. And now, in the course of one night, it was all destroyed. Centuries worth of magic and knowledge was now mostly gone. Returning this castle to its former glory would take a while, but we owed it to this school to try. We owed it to Dumbledore, Lupin, Tonks and all those other people who had died trying to defend the castle.

Yet, despite the dreary view before me, I couldn't help the smile that was slowly creeping across my face. I had survived. Harry had survived against all the odds that had been stacked against him. Ron and the rest of the Weasleys had survived as well. There were a few grey spots where Lupin and Tonks and the rest of the fallen had been, but most of the people who I had truly cared about had lived to see another day. And _he. _That vile monster who had brought such terror upon us all had finally been destroyed to the point of no return. Irrevocably killed. It brought me a sense of vindictive yet reasonable pleasure when Molly had killed Bellatrix too. The world was better off without such people tainting it with their wicked footprint. Yet they had left their mark. They'd left it in the people whose families had been killed. They'd left it in the very building in front of me. And I knew that I would work. Work so that those remains of those horrible _people _would be erased from the world.

I caught a whiff of a familiar scent of freshly mown grass and spearmint toothpaste coming up beside me. Ron put his arm around my shoulders and leaned in to kiss my cheek. I turned my face towards him and ran my hand over the various cuts and bruises that yesterday's battle had wrought upon him. He gave me a weary smile and opened his mouth to speak when-

"Ooh, ickle Ronniekins has finally found luurve," Fred drawled, as the twins came to stand beside us.

Ron flushed a colour of bright red and buried his face in my bushy hair, for once without a witty comeback towards his brothers.

Ginny and Harry walked up to us as well, hand in hand. I smiled because I knew that their separation had been difficult on both of them. George was about to tease Harry and Ginny on their rekindled relationship when Ginny placed both her hands on her hips and made an expression so like Mrs Weasley that the twins cowered and wisely kept their mouths shut. I began to laugh at the scared expression on the twins' faces and ginny soon joined me. We both became hysterical before Harry, Ron, Fred and George soon joined us. Perhaps it was the aftermath of the battle and a year of stress and uncertainty, but the sound of our laughter slowly began to fill up that gaping hole that those losses had left us. Looking at both Harry and Ron, I could tell that they felt the exact same way.

A few hours later, we were sitting in the Great hall, which was one of the only areas of the castle that hadn't been completely demolished, when Professor McGonagall came to stand on the podium where Professor Dumbledore had always stood to make his announcements. The thought brought some sadness to my face, but I knew that Dumbledore had never really died. Not really. He still lived in the hearts of the people who believed in love. Dumbledore was still here in spirit in the hearts of the people.

Professor McGonagall began to speak. "This year has been one of the toughest we have faced in our wizarding community for a very long time. This was the year where true bravery and courage were put to the test and I am proud to say how many rose to meet the challenge with open arms. The defeat of Voldemort yesterday has proved how good will _always _triumph over evil in even the most dire of circumstances. Love will always win. Friendship and family will always win.

We lost many great people both yesterday and in the past year. We must not let their sacrifice be in vain. They gave us a gift. The gift of a new life and a better future. It is vital we receive this gift with open arms and work towards a future where children are not orphaned, families are not broken and people can live in safety, not fearing what tomorrow holds. Here's to a better future." Professor McGonagall raised her glass of butterbeer and everyone in the hall echoed the gesture. For once, all the houses were united. Slytherins sat with Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs sat with Ravenclaws.

Ron placed his hand in mine and lightly squeezed it. I looked into his blue eyes and I could see that bright future ahead of us. And all was well.


End file.
